Senate plan targets new danger to firefighters - their own gear

By Katie LannanSTATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

Wednesday

May 23, 2018 at 12:52 PMMay 24, 2018 at 10:17 AM

Sounding the alarm on cancer risks faced by firefighters, the Massachusetts Senate on Tuesday voted to set aside $420,000 to help municipalities buy equipment to remove deadly carcinogens from firefighters' gear.

Under a budget amendment (1018) offered by Sen. Paul Feeney and adopted unanimously, the money would seed a new trust fund to support the bulk purchase of extractors -- essentially, Feeney said, large washing machines that can remove carcinogens that permeate clothing even after firefighters leave a scene.

"Firefighters throughout our country are surviving the calls only to become sick later on," Feeney said.

A $10,000 to $20,000 expense, extractors can be cost-prohibitive for municipalities, and nearly 30 percent of Massachusetts communities lack such equipment while others have outdated models, Feeney said.

"Our homes, our cars, our offices, our buildings are now filled with items that used to be made with simple materials, and though they were certainly more flammable, in the event of a fire they were also more stable," Feeney said. "Advances in manufacturing and in flame retardant materials has had the unintended effect of making fire, smoke and the after-effects more deadly as the high heat changes the composition of these chemicals into a dangerous cocktail of carcinogens -- carcinogens that become airborne, cancer-causing agents that cover the turnout gear of these men and women that we hired, that we expect, that we rely on to respond."

In his maiden speech to his colleagues, the Foxborough Democrat invoked Saint Florian, the patron saint of firefighters, and the late Sen. Ken Donnelly, whom he called "one of our own patron saints." Donnelly, a 37-year Lexington firefighter who also held posts with the Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts, died in April 2017 after battling a brain tumor.

Feeney credited Rep. Linda Dean Campbell, who filed a similar bill to establish a bulk purchasing program for industrial washing machines, with bringing the issue to his attention. The Public Service Committee, which Feeney co-chairs, endorsed Campbell's bill on Feb. 28 and referred it to the House Ways and Means Committee.

The U.S. Senate last week passed a bill originally filed by Congressmen Chris Collins of New York and Bill Pascarell of New Jersey, which would require the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to develop and maintain a registry to collect data regarding the incidence of cancer in firefighters. A 2015 National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health study found firefighters had a greater number of cancer diagnoses than the general population, according to Collins' office.

The bill had already passed the U.S. House, which now needs to approve a Senate amendment to it.

"This is a huge win for firefighters across the United States, now that we are so close to getting this bill on President Trump’s desk," Collins, a Republican who represents the 27th New York District, said in a statement. "When this bill becomes law, we will have a succinct and voluntary registry of cancer incidence in firefighters so we know what causes cancer in these individuals and how we can better prevent it. These brave men and women put their lives in danger to keep their communities and neighbors safe, and we have a commitment to do everything we can to keep them safe and healthy in return."